COUDERSPORT – Ed Pitchford, president and CEO of Charles Cole Memorial Hospital, (CCMH) is the recipient of the 2012 American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Advocate Award for Excellence for providing leadership and advocacy for nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania.

Each year, the AANP recognizes a nurse practitioner (NP) and a nurse practitioner advocate in each state. The advocacy award recognizes the efforts of individuals, other than nurse practitioners, who have made a significant contribution toward increasing the awareness and acceptance of the nurse practitioner profession.

Patti Thum, CRNP at Charles Cole Memorial’s Northern Potter Health Center in Ulysses, stated that the 2012 State Award for Excellence nomination noted that Mr. Pitchford is supportive of independent Nurse Practioners’ practices and he values their ability as primary care providers, as demonstrated by his recent development of an institutional policy change at CCMH. Additionally, Mr. Pitchford assisted with a policy that offers tuition reimbursement to CCMH Nurse Practitioners that are pursuing a Doctorate of Nurse Practice degree.

Mr. Pitchford’s health care administration career spans more than 30 years, beginning as an independent auditor and consultant to CCMH before spending 14 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan as an executive for Borgess Health Alliance and as the President of ProMed Healthcare. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, its Public Payer Policy Committee and the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board for NY, NJ and PA. Mr. Pitchford is also active with the National Rural Health Association including participation in its Rural Fellowship program.

Mr. Pitchford will receive the award in June at the AANP 27th National Conference in Orlando.

The AANP was founded in 1985 and is the oldest and largest full-service national professional organization for nurse practitioners of all specialties. For details, visit www.aanp.org.

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital and its ten rural health care centers serve over 50,000 residents within a 65-mile service area including Potter, Cameron, McKean and Tioga Counties in Pennsylvania and New York’s southern tier. For more information, connect on Facebook or visit www.charlescolehospital.com .